Once around the hotel, move across into the left-hand
lane and continue to the T-junction at the top with traffic lights.
Turn left here and get into the right hand lane. The right lane feeds
around to the right (uphill again), next to a sign for the Centro. Continue
uphill until you come to a traffic light with a no-entry sign ahead
of you. Turn left here (there is also a sign for the Piazzale Europa
car park). Get into the right hand lane and you come to a T-junction
on a sweeping curve; turn right here.
Keep going for the next 1.2km along the tree-lined road (ignore signs
for the Piazzale Europa car park). The road briefly becomes single lane
and one-way before opening out into 3 lanes. Get into the left-hand
lane and shortly after, turn left into the Parcheggio Partigiani, (Partisans’
Car Park). You may have to wait a few minutes to get in.
 Walk
Synopsis
(A) From the car park head up into the Underground City.
(B) Leave the underground city and follow the Corso Vannucci to the
Palazzo dei Priori.
(C) After exploring the Collegio del Cambio head to the Piazza IV Novembre.
(D) A short walk takes you to the Etruscan Well.
(E) Another short walk takes you to San Severo and an early fresco by
Raphael.
(F) Head through narrow alleys to a great view from Piazza Gio Battista
Rossi Scott.
(G) Go down some steps and arrive at the Etruscan Arch.
(H) Go past the University for Foreigners and climb the medieval aqueduct.
(I) Head through streets and alleys arriving at the Oratorio di San
Bernardino.
(J) Climb back to the Corso Vannucci (C).
(C) Visit the Galleria Nazionale dell’ Umbria and then return
via (B) to the car park (A).
Start (A)
0:00
Leave the car park, (take your ticket with you) and head for the pedestrian
exit, walk straight along the underground corridor following signs for
Centro and Scala Mobile (escalator). At the end of the corridor, turn
left onto an escalator. Immediately after this, go up a ramp directly
in front of you. Turn right and go up the next escalator, at the top,
you walk past some market stalls; it is now 3 minutes since you left
the car park. Follow the footpath, you enter a tunnel and ride a series
of escalators taking you up. 4 minutes from the stalls you arrive in
the Underground City (B).
The Underground City
0:07
The Underground City is an extraordinary sight, vaulted brick ceilings
have been constructed over medieval streets, houses and churches. This
is all that remains of the Rocca Paolina, the papal fortress built to
subdue the city by Pope Paul III. In 1540 the Pope deliberately provoked
the Perugians, who were led by the bloodthirsty Baglioni family, into
a revolt. He achieved this by breaking his promise not to raise the
tax on salt. In doing so, he could finally end the city’s independence
from Rome. He could also avenge himself of the murder of a Papal envoy,
commited six years earlier by a member of the Baglioni family. The Papal
army quickly captured the city and once all the nuns of the city had
kissed his feet the Pope built the Rocca Paolina straight over the houses
of the Baglioni and their neighbours.
The Rocca Paolina was torn down in 1860, when Garibaldi liberated the
city from Papal control. A year earlier, the Swiss Guard massacred around
two thousand citizens who were participating in a pro-unification demonstration.
After Garibaldi had captured Perugia, the Papal soldiers were escorted
out of the city to prevent the citizens from getting their revenge.
At the top of the escalators, turn right down Via Bagliona, the underground
street. After a minute you emerge through a door into the open air,
walk down the steps and then turn around. The door you walked through
is set into an arch, the Porta Marzia (Gate of Mars). The lower blocks
date back to the Etruscans and the upper part is Roman. The Pope’s
architect, Sangallo the Younger, liked the arch so much that he dismantled
it and incorporated it into the walls of the fortress. Originally, it
would have been the city’s southern entrance.
0:08
Return through the gate and make your way back up Via Bagliona. You
can spend a while wandering around the fortress. Once you have finished,
go straight past the escalators that you arrived on, and you come to
another escalator going up to the right. This takes you up to Piazza
Italia; all the buildings here date to the period after the demolition
of the Rocca Paolina, the 1860’s and 70’s.
0:10
If you came straight here from the Porta Marzia, the walking time is
2 minutes. Cross the large grassed roundabout in the middle of Piazza
Italia and head straight towards the wide pedestrian street directly
in front of you. This is the Corso Vannucci, named after Perugia’s
most famous painter, Pietro Vannucci (also known as Perugino). The width
of this road is exactly the same as the main streets found in excavations
of Etruscan settlements.
0:12
After 2 minutes, you should be alongside the most impressive building
in Perugia, the Palazzo dei Priori, (the medieval city hall and still
seat of local government today) (C). The size and grandeur of the building
is testimony to Perugia’s wealth as an independent city-state
in the period before Papal rule.
0:14
It’s time for a break, I recommend Bar Sandri on your right (closed
Mondays), easily recognisable by the impressive display of chocolate
cakes in the window. If the weather is nice, sit at a table in the street
and a waiter will come out and serve you. The hot chocolate (cioccolata
calda) is made on the premises and is not to be missed. There are no
toilets in the bar, if you need to go, look for a WC sign pointing down
a street just to the left of the Palazzo dei Priori.
The Collegio del Cambio and the Collegio della Mercanzia
Now it is time for some serious art. A small door in the Palazzo dei
Priori (opposite Bar Sandri) leads to the Collegio del Cambio (open
Mon-Sat 0900-1230 1400-1730 Sun 0900-1230), the meeting rooms of the
moneychangers’ guild. The main room contains the finest frescoes
by Perugino (Pietro Vannucci) in Perugia. It’s worth buying the
more expensive ticket; this allows you to visit the chamber of the merchants’
guild (Collegio della Mercanzia) afterwards.
A fresco is painted straight onto a thin layer of fresh (fresco) plaster;
the paint is actually absorbed into this surface. It is skilled work
as mistakes are hard to rectify and the plaster has to be painted before
it dries (the artist prepares a small section of fresh plaster each
day). The frescoes in the Collegio del Cambio compare figures from Greek
and Roman history and mythology with their biblical counterparts. For
good measure, astrological symbols are thrown into the overall design
on the ceiling. The linking of pagan and Christian symbols and ideas
was common in the 15th Century (Perugino received the commission in
1499).
Renaissance thinkers looked back to the civilisations of Greece and
Rome to rediscover the knowledge lost in the Dark Ages. In the 1500’s,
the threat to the Papacy from Protestantism lead to a much narrower,
strictly Christian view of what was acceptable in works of art. In the
middle of the south wall, there is a self-portrait of a well fed Perugino
in a red hat and painted to look as if it is a picture hanging on the
wall. Incidentally, a very young Raphael may have assisted Perugino
with these frescoes, although there is no documented evidence. It is
thought that Raphael could have been the model for the prophet Daniel.
There is a chapel dedicated to St. John the Baptist beyond this room;
the frescos are not by Perugino and the quality is not as high, although
children usually enjoy looking at the gruesome picture of St. John’s
decapitation. On leaving the Collegio del Cambio, turn left and walk
past the main entrance to the Palazzo, a large Gothic arch, and look
for another, much smaller door. This is the entrance to the Collegio
della Mercanzia (open Mon-Sat 0900-1230 1400-1730 Sun 0900-1230), the
chambers of the merchant’s guild. Use your ticket from the Collegio
del Cambio to enter. The room doesn’t take long too look around
but is decorated with impressive wooden panelling and inlays.
Piazza IV Novembre
Turn left on leaving the Collegio del Cambio and a minute later you
are in the Piazza IV Novembre, the centre of the city (D). The Duomo
and the Palazzo dei Priori face each other across the square. The Piazza
is dominated by a medieval fountain, the Fontana Maggiore. It dates
to 1277 and was made by the sculptors Nicola Pisano and his son Giovanni.
 Piazza
IV Novembre
Art historians often cite the realistic style (influenced by Greek and
Roman sculpture) of these sculptors when they look to the roots of the
Renaissance and the end of the Gothic. Gothic is the Northern European
medieval style; the name is derived from a sneering association in the
mind of Renaissance man with barbarian invaders from the north.
Again, Christian symbolism is freely mixed with astrological signs and
Greek and Roman mythology. Look for the signs of the zodiac and the
corresponding labour of the month, (locals still kill their pigs in
December). Others to look out for are the lion and griffin (the symbol
of Perugia). Scenes from Roman legends and Aesop’s fables can
be found next to the biblical images of the Garden of Eden and Samson
and Delilah, as well as representations of science and the arts. The
upper basin has statues representing Perugia and the surrounding countryside.
Walk around the fountain and the corners of the panels on the upper
and lower basins never converge, this is deliberately intended to draw
your eye around it.
Take a look at the façade of the Duomo. The arches on the left,
the Loggia di Braccio Fortebraccio, were built in 1423 by the powerful
mercenary and Lord of Perugia of the same name (see Montone walks).
Unless you have a particular interest in Italian cathedrals, the interior
is not worth exploring.
The pulpit to the right of the entrance was specially built for the
Franciscan preacher, San Bernadino di Siena. He was so popular that
the crowds could not fit into the Duomo and he addressed them in the
square. Later on in the walk, you come to the Oratorio di San Bernadino,
a church dedicated to his memory. The statue of the Pope, Julius III,
may seem a little strange in a city where the Papacy was so unpopular;
he did away with many of the harsh taxes that Paul III imposed on the
city and was the one Pope that the Perugians liked.
Pozzo Etrusco (Etruscan Well)
0:15
Leave the square to the right of the Duomo. This takes you into Piazza
Dante, cross the road on your right (this is disguised as a pedestrian
area until you notice the cars) and 2 minutes from Piazza IV Novembre,
you will come to the entrance to the Etruscan Well. Look for a sign
for the Pozzo Etrusco (E) above the entrance to an alley on your right.
0:17
Walk down the alley and a go in the entrance door on your left. Keep
your ticket, it will also allow you access to the next point of interest
on the walk, the fresco at the church of San Severo. If it is a busy
day, you may have to wait a while because only six people are allowed
on the bridge over the well at any one time. The well is huge, and supplied
the whole of the city with water in Etruscan times; it would seem that
Roman engineering skills developed with Etruscan knowledge.
San Severo
When you leave the Etruscan Well, turn right at the end of the alley
and walk across the right side of Piazza Piccinino. Look for the wellhead
on your left; you were standing under it a few minutes ago. You enter
Via Bontempi and 2 minutes after leaving the Pozzo Etrusco, take a left
up Via Raphaello, a narrow street. A minute later, you arrive at the
next point of interest on the walk, the church of San Severo (F).
0:20
In a side-chapel of the church, you will find a fresco started by the
young Raphael and finished after his death by Perugino, his former teacher.
Before he had completed the fresco, Raphael was called to Rome and left
it unfinished. In 1521, a year after Raphael died; Perugino finished
the fresco, already aware that his former pupil had outshone him. The
difference between the top and bottom of the frescoes is noticeable,
Perugino was clearly in decline in his final years; think of the frescoes
he painted at the height of his career in the Collegio del Cambio.
Turn right as you come out of the chapel, Via Raphaello turns into Via
dell’Aquila, this is a short stretch under some vaults and then
you take a left up the steps of a narrow alleyway. 3 minutes from San
Severo, you arrive in the triangular Piazza Biordo Michelotti (look
for the sign behind you on your left). Take the road down to the right
out of the piazza, after a minute, the road curves left and you come
to Piazza Gio Battista Rossi Scotti (G). Piazza seems to be a bit of
an exaggeration; it is little more than a road with a wide pavement.
However, along the edge of the piazza, there is a fantastic view of
rooftops, churches, walls and hills. Don’t lean too far over the
wall, it’s a long drop below.
Arco Etrusco (Etruscan Arch)
0:24
Once you have finished admiring the view, continue along the piazza
and head down the wide steps directly in front of you. The steps double
back on themselves a couple of times and 2 minutes later, you come to
a junction with a steep road. Turn right and follow the steps down.
A minute later you arrive at the busy Piazza Fortebraccio. Cross the
road you have just walked down, pass a fountain on your left and you
come to the Arco Etrusco (Etruscan Arch); the most impressive entrance
to Perugia (H).
0:27
To properly admire the arch, walk straight past it and cross the road
on your right. A minute after arriving at the piazza, you should be
standing on the path outside the large red brick building, the Università
dei Stranieri (University for Foreigners), this is the best place to
get a good view. The large stone blocks at the bottom are Etruscan,
dating to the 2nd Century BC, the top part of the arch is Roman and
the loggia on the top left is Renaissance.
If you visit the Galleria Nazionale Dell’ Umbria at the end of
the walk, you will see a fresco of Perugia painted before the loggia
was added. Note the inscription “Augusta Perusia” at the
top of the arch. The Emperor Augustus captured the city in the power
struggle following the death of Julius Ceasar; note the size of the
lettering, clearly the emperor considered himself to be far more important
than the city.
A Medieval Aqueduct
0:28
Turn around and walk away from the arch, keeping the University for
Foreigners on your left. Turn left onto Via Ariodante Fabretti, the
footpath along here is narrow and then finishes altogether. Traffic
is only allowed in one direction at a time along this stretch. After
maybe 200m without the footpath, turn left onto the pedestrian Via Aquedotto
It is 2 minutes since you left the University for Foreigners.
0:30
Via Aquedotto was a medieval aqueduct carrying water to the Fontana
Maggiore, the medieval fountain you saw earlier on. You may be surprised
to see that the water flowed uphill; the water was piped from a source
higher than the fountain. The siphoning action was aided by a steady
reduction in the pipe diameter; this increased the water pressure along
the length of the aqueduct.
Walking along the aqueduct is a wonderful experience. You can look down
into gardens and onto rooftops and should you wish, straight into houses.
At the time of writing, there is a rude message on one fridge to confront
those looking in. I’m not sure it has the desired effect, since
I look out for it every time! The aqueduct ends in a set of steps. 8
minutes from the start of Via Aquedotto, you arrive at the top (I);
turn right onto Via Baldeschi.
0:38
Via Baldeschi leads to Piazza Felice Cavalotti almost straight away.
Continue in the same direction over the piazza and then along Piazza
Morlacchi (again, this is more of a road than a piazza). After 2 minutes,
you come to a junction in front of the Uffici Tributi (Tax Office).
Turn right here and then immediately left onto Via Aquilone, you then
pass a building on your right called the Università Degli Studi
(University of Studies).
0:40
One minute later, turn left onto Via Francolina and then immediately
right onto Via della Tartaruga (Tortoise Street). 2 minutes later, turn
left at the end of Via della Tartaruga and after about 20 metres, turn
right down some steps. You have to turn left at the bottom of the steps
onto Via delle Siepe. The sign is at the far end of the street; when
you get there it is 3 minutes from the top of the steps. Turn right
and a minute later you will find yourself facing two churches with a
large grassed area in front.
The Oratorio di San Bernardino
0:47
In good weather, this is a popular meeting place for students from the
University. The smaller church on the left is the Oratorio di San Bernardino
(J); it is dedicated to the popular preacher for whom the pulpit on
the outside of the Duomo was built. Cross the grass and a minute later
you are standing in front of the church. Have a good look at the façade
(inside it’s quite plain).
The marble reliefs on the façade were sculpted by Agostino di
Duccio; they show scenes from the life of San Bernardino. The sculptor
is not the Sienese Duccio di Buoninsegna, the famous medieval painter,
but a Florentine artist of sufficient fame to have had an attempt at
carving the block from which Michelangelo eventually sculpted David.
When you look at the carvings, note the one where the preacher orders
the Perugians (well known for their love of fighting) to burn their
weapons. As the weapons burn, the Devil flies out of the fire. This
has parallels to the “Bonfire of the Vanities” which occurred
later on in Florence under the influence of the Dominican preacher Savonarola.
Instead of weapons, the Florentines burnt their luxury items.
Leave the church and return the way you came, after 2 minutes, you pass
Via della Siepe on your left. Ahead, you can see a large tower; these
were common in medieval Italian cities and were the fortified houses
of the aristocracy. As the merchant classes became more powerful, cities
began to control the surrounding countryside. The aristocratic families
found themselves owing allegiance to the new city-states.
0:49
Fortified towers within the walls of a city, especially when owned by
powerful families with their own interests to pursue, presented too
much of a threat to the new rulers. Most were pulled down, if you visit
the National Gallery of Umbria after the walk, there is a fresco of
the Perugia skyline which shows many of these towers (the same fresco
which depicts the Etruscan Arch without the Renaissance loggia). One
minute later you pass beside the base of the tower, continue walking
up the street and 6 minutes beyond this, you pass under an arch and
emerge back onto the Corso Vannucci (C).
Galleria Nazionale dell’ Umbria (National Gallery of Umbria)
0:56
Now it’s time for more art. The Galleria Nazionale dell’
Umbria (open daily 0900-1900, closed on the first Monday of each month)
is housed within the Palazzo dei Priori and contains more work by Perugino,
as well as altarpieces by Fra Angelico and Piero della Francesca. Turn
left onto the Corso Vannucci and almost immediately, turn left again
through the main entrance to the Palazzo dei Priori (the Gothic arch
you passed earlier in the walk).
Walk straight on to the back of the building and you will find the ticket
office through an entrance on your right. The ticket office for the
museum is located here, well away from the gallery, which is located
on the third floor. Once you have your ticket, you need to get to the
gallery, there is a small lift near the ticket office or you can use
the stairs near the entrance.
For those seriously interested in the development of Umbrian Art and
its Sienese influences (many of the painters who worked at Assisi were
Sienese), the first rooms display medieval art. I don’t tend to
linger here, I get a little bored looking at Crucifixions and paintings
of the Madonna con Bambino, but feel free to take your time.
In room VIII, you will find an altarpiece by Fra Angelico (the museum
uses his other name; “Beato Angelico”). Although he was
a Renaissance painter, he was still influenced by the late medieval
style, combining the newly mastered perspective with gold leaf and flowery
backgrounds.
In room XI, you will find a sculpture of the Madonna and Child by Agostino
di Duccio, the artist who carved the façade of the Oratorio di
San Bernardino. The Madonna, especially, is surprisingly modern in style.
Turn around and you are confronted with, what in my opinion, is the
museum’s greatest masterpiece, an altarpiece from the church of
St. Antony di Padua by Piero della Francesca. Piero della Francesca
was a mathematician and his paintings demonstrate his interest in perfect
perspective. He was a teacher of Perugino and you might notice his influence
in Perugino’s paintings further on in the Gallery. The Tuscans
and Umbrians both like to include him amongst their painters because
the town where he lived, Borgo Sansepolcro, once Umbrian, was sold by
the Pope and became part of Tuscany.
In room XV, there is a series of eight paintings from Perugino’s
workshop on the left and another, larger painting on the right. The
paintings on the left show the miracles performed by San Bernardino
di Siena, the popular preacher. The painting on the right, an Adoration
of the Magi, painted around 1470, shows a much younger Perugino than
the one you saw earlier, staring straight out of the crowd.
In room XXI, the walls are frescoed with scenes from the siege of Perugia
by the Goths. Although the siege took place in AD 547, the cityscape
is decidedly medieval. Note the Etruscan Arch minus the Renaissance
loggia and the numerous fortified towers within the city. The fresco
shows Perugians having thrown a calf, stuffed with grain over the walls
in a desperate last attempt to trick the Goths into thinking there is
still plenty of food within the city. There is also a small painting
by Perugino above a large altarpiece. Often overlooked by visitors due
to its size and position on the wall, Christ in Pity (Imago Pietatis)
is one of the best Perugino paintings in the Gallery.
The last room in the Gallery has several paintings by Perugino of varying
quality. One painting shows the subject framed within a structure of
simple design in order to demonstrate his skills of linear perspective
(this is probably the influence of Piero della Francesca). Many of Perugino’s
paintings use this format; he had a vast workshop, which churned out
commissions to order. He was not going to waste time developing a new
arrangement for each client. The saccharine sweetness of the faces and
camp male figures may not be entirely to modern tastes, but they appealed
to the Pre-Raphaelite school of painters in England, who held Perugino’s
style in high regard
Perugino was also one of the first painters to develop aerial, or “birds-eye”
perspective. This technique dispenses with lines running towards a vanishing
point; instead it tricks the brain into recognising distance by colouring
the furthest objects and parts of the landscape in shades of blue. The
next time you view any Tuscan or Umbrian landscape, look at the further
hills and you will see that they appear to be a washed-out blue. Leonardo
da Vinci went on to perfect this technique, he knew Perugino when they
worked as pupils of Andrea Verrocchio in Florence.
When you have finished in the gallery, make your way back to the Corso
Vannucci. You can wander the busy shopping area in the centre, have
lunch, or make your way back to the car (turn right onto Corso Vannucci
and retrace your steps).
End
Leaving Perugia by car can be as difficult as entering it. If it is
your first visit, I recommend following signs to Firenze and Roma until
you reach the Autostrada, these signs are the least likely to disappear
and leave you lost in the one-way system
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